The No. 32 UW men's tennis team concludes its home schedule this weekend with a pair of Big Ten matches at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
On Saturday, the Badgers (5-2 Big Ten, 13-8 overall) will take on No. 53 Iowa, followed by a match with interstate rival Minnesota on Sunday afternoon, which is Senior Day. Jeremy Sonkin, Nolan Polley and Felipe Bellido will all play their final home match in cardinal and white.
I think they've been kind of the turning point in our program since I was able to take over as the head coach here,"" coach Greg Van Emburgh said, who took over the program in 2005. ""When I first got here we obviously wanted to raise the bar and set the standard, and I think those are three of the players that were able to do that and have done a great job.
""It just shows you how far our program has come in a short time. And these are three of the reasons why.""
Bellido a native of Lima, Peru, led the Badgers in singles victories last season with 26, including 18 in the spring season. He has been a steady player who entered the 2007-'08 season with the ninth-highest winning percentage in UW history.
""Time flies,"" Bellido said. ""I was looking at the little posters yesterday, and I just realized it was Senior Day, it's crazy. I have so many good memories, so many good wins and tough losses. But we just take them with the team and make them go away. It's a great experience to play competitive college tennis, and it's something I'll remember my whole life.""
One of the highlights of his career, he said, was his match-clinching victory over then-No. 39 Indiana last weekend in a 4-3 UW win. Bellido notched the deciding victory at No. 6 singles, winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 over Chris Foster of the Hoosiers.
Sonkin has battled injuries all season, sitting out the last two matches at Indiana and Ohio State. The Wheaton, Ill., native made an immediate impact as a freshman, collecting a team-best 24 victories playing mostly at the No. 2 singles spot. Last season, Sonkin's 7-6 (4), 6-2 upset win over then-No. 8 Ryan Rowe of Illinois was one of his best wins, Van Emburgh said.
Nolan Polley, a Kentucky transfer, has been with the Badgers for three years. Polley came to UW with Van Emburgh, a Kentucky assistant prior to taking over with the Badgers. Van Emburgh noted Polley's match-clinching win at No. 10 Miami last season, a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) win over the Hurricanes' Josh Cohen, as one of the finest moments of the southpaw's career.
The Badgers will face an Iowa team on Saturday that has lost three of its past four matches. The Hawkeyes (2-4, 10-7) defeated Indiana 4-3, the same margin by which UW defeated the Hoosiers, Bellido pointed out.
""It's definitely an even team,"" Bellido said. ""They're pretty strong at the top of the lineup, they have some older players. So it's definitely a match that's going to be a war.""
Minnesota (2-4, 4-14) has won two matches in a row, defeating No. 73 Michigan State and Iowa last weekend for its first conference wins. According to Van Emburgh, now is not the time to overlook any Big Ten foe, no matter what the records may indicate.
""I think we want to approach it where no matter if it's Minnesota, if it's Iowa, if it's Michigan State. We go out there, it's a conference match, it's a Big Ten match,"" he said. ""We want to take care of business and make sure we get our 'W' and come out for a battle.""
Women's squad
The UW women's tennis team will hit the road for a pair of conference matches at Minnesota on Saturday and at Iowa on Sunday.
The Badgers (0-7 Big Ten, 7-12 overall) look poised for their first conference win of the season following a 5-2 loss to No. 29 Ohio State last Sunday. Senior Liz Carpenter and freshman Emese Kardhordo picked up singles wins for UW. It was the first outdoor match in the Midwest for the Badgers this season.
One key to this weekend's matches, according to coach Brian Fleishman, will be the doubles point.
""I think Minnesota is a team that we're very compatible with,"" Fleishman said. ""I think that it's going to come down to, it's going to be a 4-3 match, and it's going to be who gets that doubles point. Same thing with Iowa, another team very similar to us.""
Carpenter said it is a learning process and carrying the experiences over and having a good week of practice will determine the Badgers' fate against the Gophers (1-5, 11-8) and the Hawkeyes (2-4, 11-5).
""We're going to be going away, and we're [probably] going to be playing outside, so I think we have an advantage if we do play outside,"" Carpenter said. ""A lot of other places haven't had great weather. We'll just take what we learned from this weekend and play better next weekend.""
